Armstrong’s Manager Banned 10 Years
For involvement in the doping conspiracy
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Johan Bruyneel—who served as team director during each of Lance Armstrong’s seven Tour de France victories—was banned 10 years for his involvement in the “doping conspiracy.”
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced the ban Tuesday after an independent arbitration panel found Bruyneel to be “at the apex of a conspiracy to commit widespread doping on the USPS and Discovery Channel teams spanning many year and many riders.”
Former U.S. Postal Service team staff Pedro Celaya and Jose “Pepe” Martí were also banned for eight years. Armstrong was banned for life in 2012.
This might be the end of the road for the U.S. Postal Service case, but it’s certainly not the end of the story. The USADA report reveals Martí was working for two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador’s team Saxo-Tinkoff, despite a public declaration stating otherwise.
Contador, one of the top contenders for the 2014 Tour de France, worked with Martí on his two previous teams, but he denied any involvement with the coach after Floyd Landis accused Martí of being a “drug trafficker” in 2011.
Now, USADA is effectively calling Contador a liar. If the agency is right, the famous Spanish rider could face a rather awkward situation.